Authorities search for suspect accused of fires at two construction sites
PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Investigators say they are closing in on suspect accused of setting fires at two construction sites in Fishtown.
As construction crews continued to hammer away at new home sites along Frankford Avenue in Fishtown, police were building their case against the suspect who started at least two fires along this stretch on Monday.
The real estate broker for the units is Ori Feibush. FOX 29 spoke with him earlier this week after the arsonist targeted one of the sites. The small fire at the construction site drew the immediate attention of the city's arson task force.
"It's never OK to break someone else's things. It's never OK to damage other persons property. They are not only putting forward a misguided political statement but they are truly putting other people at risk," Feibush said.
Feibush knows what he's talking about. Back in May, an arsonist torched his properties under construction in Point Breeze. It took 75 firefighters to extinguish the blaze. Last November, vandals spray-painted graffiti on the windows of his Washington Avenue headquarters in South Philadelphia.
Sources say the suspect also tried to start a fire at a second site nearby on Hewson Street. Investigators retrieved surveillance video from neighbors near the sites and used facial recognition software to tentatively identify a suspect. A warrant was obtained and investigators are now searching for that individual.
Feibush insists his projects are not being targeted even though its the second time an arsonist has struck at one of his sites.